Leading up to the Battle of Kadesh

Leading Up to the Battle of Kadesh (The Battle of Kadesh, Part I) by Jimmy Dunn writing as Troy Fox

The Battle of Kadesh is one of the most well known military campaigns of history beca se it is the earliest battle that can be reliably reconstr cted in detail from !ario s records on both sides of the conflict" #o ght between $amesses II, one of %gypt&s best known pharaohs, and the 'ittites nder ( watallish (along with a n mber of allies), this battle o!er control of )yrian territory has recei!ed considerable attention by many analysts o!er the years" 'owe!er, in order to completely nderstand this historical e!ent, it is necessary to e*amine the history that led p to this famo s battle, for it was !ery literally h ndreds of years in the making"

#rom almost the beginning of recorded history, %gypt was acti!e in the Le!ant region of so thern )yria, partic larly at the port of Byblos, where the earliest inspirational e!idence of an %gyptian king was that of Khasekhemwy of %gypt&s +nd ,ynasty" #rom that time onward, %gypt had some in!ol!ement in the region, if only in the realms of diplomacy and trade" 'owe!er, o!er an e*tended period of time, the great powers of the -ncient .ear %ast so ght to control )yria in order to e*ploit the economic reso rces and trade of the region" )yria was the cross roads of world commerce d ring %gypt&s .ew Kingdom, where goods from the -egean and beyond entered the .ear %ast by way of ports s ch as Ugarit" The ships that docked in these ports dominated maritime trade in the eastern (editerranean" They carried a rich !ariety of goods, incl ding copper, tin, chemicals, tools, glass ingots, i!ory, faience, /ewelry, l * ry goods, timber, te*tiles foodst ff together with other prod cts that were then distrib ted thro gho t the .ear %ast and beyond o!er a network of e*tensi!e trade ro tes" In t rn, these same land ro tes were sed by traders who bro ght raw material s ch as precio s metals, tin, copper, lapis la0 li and other merchandise from as far away as Iran and -fghanistan to sell in the )yrian markets"

'ence, it is easy to nderstand %gypt&s in!ol!ement in the region" 'owe!er, tho gh )en sret III (1+th ,ynasty), seems to ha!e fo ght one campaign in so thern )yria c lminating in the capt re of the 2ity of )hechem, the early %gyptian&s appear to ha!e been, for the most part, rather indifferent regarding this important region" B t beginning with )en sret III, who operating o t of the new northern capital named It/tawy established by -menemhat I in the area of Lisht, the scene was set for a more !igoro s foreign policy" $eg lar en!oys began to be sent to s ch )yrian city3states as Ugarit and Byblos, and there was both an increase in foreign trade and in the fortification of %gypt&s northeastern frontier" 4!erall howe!er, the %gyptian policy in the Le!ant d ring the %gypt&s (iddle Kingdom was relati!ely nai!e, ltimately res lting in the )econd Intermediate Period" By the 15th ,ynasty, %gyptian r lers were adapting a more mat re approach to international relations and as early as the reign of -hmose, who fo nded the .ew Kingdom, they began laying down the fo ndations of an -siatic empire by campaigning in so thern )yria" -t the same time, there was an increase in the se of diplomacy res lting in a framework of alliances and treaties" The ancient .ear %ast had an early, strong tradition by which power blocks were b ilt and maintained" There were basically two types of treaties as early as the second millenni m B2, disting ished by the -kkadian terms, riks (a parity treaty) and ade (essentially an oath of loyalty or !assal treaty)" 6hile %gypt wo ld become deeply in!ol!ed in the so thern )yria, the se of -kkadian and Babylonian dialects as the primary lang age of these treaties and related correspondence, howe!er, s ggests that %gypt was simply absorbed into an e*isting network of international diplomacy, the origins of which probably lay in (esopotamia"

, ring %gypt&s .ew Kingdom, )yrian control was synonymo s with 7world7 power among the predatory empires that so ght to se the region&s wealth for their own benefit" 'ence, o!er a period of se!eral h ndred hears, %gypt, and their primary enemies in the region, (itanni and 'atti, among other empires, applied considerable effort, incl ding bloody warfare, to control this !itally strategic region" 6hile the moti!ation of the !ario s 7great powers7 of the region are clear, more specifically, we can e*amine more specifically the e!ents that ltimately c lminated in %gypt&s last and best known Battle of Kadesh against the 'ittites" By the time of T thmosis III of %gypt&s 15th ,ynasty, %gypt controlled a considerable region in )o thern )yria" 'owe!er, one of the principal conflicts leading p to this peace with (itanni was the Battle of (egiddo, where T thmosis III s8 ashed a re!olt by city3states led by the prince of Kadesh, tho gh backed by (itanni, %gypt&s principal ri!al in the Le!ant" 'owe!er, this was only the first of se!enteen campaigns that T thmosis III wo ld e!ent ally ndertake" T thmosis III, sometimes known as the .apoleon of %gypt, backed p his military achie!ements in the region with a network of garrisons and n mero s !assal treaties" Taking a long !iew of the regions strategic importance, he ret rned from his campaigns with 9: sons of La!ant chiefs, holding them hostage b t also indoctrinating them with %gyptian traditions" They were later ret rned to their homelands as p ppet r lers" This e!ent ally res lted a long term perception by %gypt that so thern )yria was a permanent %gyptian territory"

, ring the reign of T thmosis I; (1<+=31<1> B2), %gypt signed a peace treaty that ended hostilities for really the first time since the aggressi!e military campaigns of T thmosis I, T thmosis III and his s ccessor, -menhotep II, who greatly e*panded %gypt&s territories in )yria" It was the early re!i!al of the 'ittite kingdom that forced (itanni to make peace with %gypt in order to a!ert a war on two fronts, tho gh the treaty also ser!ed %gypt, which had witnessed a progressi!e loss of gro nd to (itanni in )yria after T thmosis III" T thmosis I;, -menhotep II&s s ccessor concl ded the peace treaty when he married the da ghter of the (itanni king, -rtatama" The essence of this peace treaty was that it specifically set the border between the two empires in central )yria" -mong other territories, it ga!e to %gypt -m rr , the %le theros !alley and Kadesh" In ret rn, the %gyptians ga!e p their claims to land that had, d ring the reigns of T thmosis I and T thmosis III, been held by %gypt" -fter the peace treaty was established, both %gypt and (itanni seem to ha!e prospered and indeed, this period established the wealth of %gypt&s .ew Kingdom, as trib te flowed in from the 2anaanite possessions" #or some three decades, goods flowed nimpeded along the grade ro tes as the region en/oyed relati!e tran8 illity" %gypt depended on the %le theros !alley, which crossed the territory known as -m rr , in order to access their )yrian holdings along the 4rontes $i!er" This same ro te was earlier sed by the %gyptian armies as they marched on the (itanni possessions in northern )yria prior to the peace treaty" To the %gyptians, the %le theros !alley was of essential strategic importance, b t in order to maintain this ro te, the city state of Kadesh, which dominated the western end of the ;alley and that laid astride the main %gyptian in!asion ro te into northern )yria, also had to be nder %gyptian control" Tho gh the %gyptians had gi!en p their claims in .orthern )yria nder the T thmosis I;&s peace treaty, if e!er their imperial aspirations in that region were re!i!ed, Kadesh wo ld be needed" It was the importance of Kadesh and -m rr that wo ld e!ent ally lead to the ltimate conflict between %gypt and 'atti" 'owe!er, the tro ble did not begin with the 'ittites, b t rather with the emergence of a nascent political entity in -m rr " The territory of -m rr had not been a legitimate kingdom

when the peace treaty was signed, b t nder the strong leadership of -bdi3-shirta, and later his son -0ir , the inhabitants of this region formed at least eno gh of a coherence that, by the end of the 1<th cent ry B2, they were able to form a kingdom stretching between the (editerranean )ea and the 4rontes !alley"

Being cle!er fellows, abdi3-shirta and his son, while professing loyalty to their o!erlord -menhotep III in %gypt, took ad!antage that pharaoh&s relati!e indifference to %gypt&s holdings in the region by e*panding the new -m rr kingdom at the e*pense of a n mber of his neighbors" %!en when these small states, who were !assals of %gypt, protested to the pharaoh, their complaints went nanswered by action" The matter became so serio s in fact that (itanni deemed it necessary to take military action in order to keep this nominally %gyptian !assal nder control" %gypt did e!ent ally send a military e*pedition to the area, and for a while, the problems created by -m rr were remo!ed by the death of -bdi3 -shirta" 'owe!er, the stage was set for wider, and more problematic tro bles" , ring the first half of the 1<th cent ry B2, the 'ittites, nder the powerf l r le of their king, ) ppil li mas, began to serio sly demolish the position of the Kingdom of (itanni in northern )yria, res lting in the nra!eling of the international stat s 8 o that had e*isted since the peace treaty of T thmosis I;" ) ppil li mas ascended the 'ittite throne in appro*imately 195? B2, and almost immediately began to assert a 'ittite claim to )yria" -t first, he attacked territories held by (itanni, of co rse creating open hostilities between the two empires" 'e began by in!ading and con8 ering the small states of -leppo, -lalakh, . hashshe and T nip in northern )yria" 6hen the (itanni r lers attempted to reestablish their control in the region, the 'ittite monarch sed this as an e*c se for a second )yrian war" ) ppil li mas declared these former (itannian !assal states to be rebels" 'owe!er, rather than attacking them, he crossed o!er the $i!er % phrates and marched directly so th, campaigning against the (itanni empire directly" In a rapid military action, he s rprised the (itanni army so badly that he was able to occ pied and sacked the capital, 6ash kkanni"

4nly then did he t rn west, crossing o!er the % phrates once again to enter )yria, where his tr e ob/ecti!es lay" .ow, there was little in the way of a (itanni empire to stand in his way, so the )yrian states rapidly fell, one after the other, to the 'ittites" ) ppil li mas lists them as -leppo, ( kish, .iya, -rakht , @atna and . hashshe" In the processes, %gypt let slip away the important Ugarit port (reportedly witho t battle) and the strategically essential Kadesh, and witho t e!en a fight" These campaigns occ rred d ring the reign of -menhotep I;, better known to most as -khenaten" 2ertainly this pharaoh m st ha!e been foc sed on his new religion re!ol!ing aro nd the -ten (s n disk), and critics ha!e sed his inaction on this matter as e!idences of his disinterest in %gypt&s -siatic empire" In reality tho gh, %gypt&s relationship with the (itanni empire had cooled considerably in the pre!io s few years, and so the r ler cared little abo t the e!ents in northern )yria o tside his holdings" # rthermore, the 'ittite king had also made it clear beforehand that his campaign was directed against (itanni and its )yrian dependencies only" In fact, it was the Kadesh king himself, by nilaterally attempting to halt the 'ittite ad!ance so thward nder the belief that he was acting in the interests of his %gyptian o!erlord, which forced ) ppil li mas to capt re the city" (ost of the leaders of the city, incl ding the king and his son, -itakama, were carried off to 'att sas ('att shash, modern Bogha0koy in T rkey), the 'ittite capital" 'owe!er, in order to demonstrate their claim of ha!ing no design on %gyptian territory, -itakama was ret rned to Kadesh, where he renewed the city&s stat s as an %gyptian !assal" This seems tho gh, to ha!e been a r se" Upon -itakama ret rn, other %gyptian !assal cities began to report attempts on his part to s b!ert them to the 'ittite side" In fact, -itakama e!en attacked Upe, an %gyptian !assal" )till, %gypt&s only response to this sit ation was to charge -0ir , the r ler of -m rr , to protect the pharaoh&s interests in the region" 4f co rse, this only ga!e -0ir the opport nity to e*ploit the %gyptians once again, as his father had done, by e*panding -m rr &s borders at the e*pense of his neighboring !assal states" In fact, word finally reached %gypt that -0ir too was flirting with the 'itties, and had e!en entertained en!oys sent by ) ppil li mas" #inally, a demand was made for -0ir to present himself at the %gyptian co rt, while Kadesh was declared to be in re!olt" -0ir rel ctantly agreed to tra!el to the co rt of -khenaten where his was forced to stay for se!eral years" (ilitary action was now clearly called for, and tho gh there is little in the way of doc mentary e!idence, most historians belie!e that -khenaten did indeed send troops to attack Kadesh" 'owe!er, this action apparently failed, tho gh the reco!ery of Kadesh became the foc s of %gyptian military efforts down ntil the time of $amesses II of %gypt&s 1Ath ,ynasty" 'owe!er, regardless of how important %gypt&s holdings in )yria might ha!e appeared to earlier and later r lers, the .ilotic kingdom tterly failed to maintain any type of balance of power in the region" ) ppil li mas began to consolidate his position in the region by placing -leppo, as well as 2archemish which had by now also fallen to the 'ittites, nder the r le of his sons" Thereafter, they set abo t establishing their own armies so that the loyalty of the 'ittite !assal states in )yria co ld be closely controlled" 'ence, there was considerably military presence in )yria, co ntered by almost no %gyptian co nter forces" 6hen the pharaoh tho gh that -0ir &s loyalties were firmly with the %gyptians, he was finally released, b t with the balance of power in the region ob!io sly on the side of the 'ittites, he 8 ickly re!oked his !assal oath to %gypt for the protection of ) ppil li mas" .ow, Kadesh and -m rr , together with the %le theros !alley were lost to the %gyptians, b t while the 'ittites may ha!e come to !iew this as their permanent territory, the %gyptians ne!er shared that !iew, and as the military men of the late 15th and early 1Ath ,ynasty came to the throne, there was no do bt that they wo ld seek to regain what was lost" Unfort nately, any s ch ambition was m ted in the face of reorgani0ing %gypt after the tro bles of the -marna period of -khenaten&s r le" 'owe!er, after the death of T tankham n in 19=+, military men sei0ed the throne of %gypt and held it for the ne*t thirty two years" -n interesting side note to this was that, pon T tankham n&s death, his wife sent a messenger to ) ppil li mas asking to marry one of his sons" ) spicio s, as well he sho ld ha!e been, he first s bstantiated the origin of the re8 est, before agreeing to send one of his

sons to %gypt" 6hat a windfall he m st ha!e felt this was, b t we belie!e that it was probably -y who disco!ered this treachery and had the son killed in ro te to %gypt" -y then married .efertiti to become one of %gypt&s last pharaohs of the 15th ,ynasty" )oon, .efertiti disappeared from recorded history" 6hile the time was not yet ripe for a )yrian campaign, the empire did ndergo a ma/or shift in policy" $ le by pro*y had clearly not worked for the %gyptians in !assal territory, so this policy was replaced by act al military occ pation" .ow, policy was often dictated by the military, and as early as the reign of general t rned pharaoh, 'oremheb, we see indications of a will to reco!er %gypt&s lost territories and so regain the grande r of the pre3-marna period" Probably in anticipation of renewed hostilities, 'oremheb began to reestablish the old 'yksos capital at -!aris in the eastern delta, for this was an e*cellent locale from which to la nch )yrian campaigns d e to its pro*imity to ro tes leading to 2anaan and )yria" -!aris became a forward operating base where %gyptian troops co ld rapidly be deployed to )yria" 6hile 'oremheb apparently ne!er got aro nd to la nching s ch a campaign, his s ccessor after the brief reign of $amesses I, did / st that"

It is clear that $amesses I&s s ccessor )eti I had, from the !ery beginning, intentions of retrie!ing %gypt&s position in )yria" 'e so ght to recapt re %gypt&s greatness, e!en taking as one of his titles, 7$epeater of Births, signaling a new era" Before the close of his first year on the %gyptian throne, he led an army into Palestine to eradicate a coalition of hostile 2anaanite princes and contin ed north into Lebanon" )ignificantly, and setting a trend for the f t re, Pharaoh lead his army for perhaps the first time since the reign of T thmosis I;" , ring the -rmarna period, military action had mostly in!ol!ed minor campaigns, mostly police actions, b t now, the f ll army wo ld be welded by the king, personally" 'e, as his son and s ccessor, $amesses II, took the policy of T thmosis III as their own in -sia" By his second year, he led an army northward to begin his offensi!e against the 'ittite empire and the first battles between the two great kingdoms" Today we can still see the records made of )eti&s )yrian campaigns in the west wing of his war mon ment at Karnak" 'ere, he had recordedB 7"""the ascent that Pharaoh"""made in order to destroy the land of Kadesh and the land of -m rr 7" 6e belie!e that he made good on at least one of these claims by a !ictory stela reco!ered from Kadesh that bears his name and e!idencing the capt re of the city by his %gyptian army"

'owe!er, many scholars belie!e he ne!er s cceeded at this time in taking -m rr " Cet, with Kadesh in hand, he was able to stage campaigns into northern )yria where he met and defeated at least one 'ittite army (tho gh probably composed of !assal forces)" That, gi!en the gra!ity of this sit ation, the principal 'ittite forces did not immediately take action has led some scholars to belie!e that they were occ pied elsewhere, perhaps in -ssyria" Indeed, the 'ittite empire was ha!ing problems with its eastern neighbors, and may ha!e had to tolerate )eti I&s tri mphs for a while"

Cet, indications as e!idenced by the annals of ( rsilis seem to point to Kadesh&s ret rn to 'ittite hands prior to )eti I&s death in 19?< B2, b t if this was the res lt of a treaty, as some s ggest, it was not to the liking of his son and s ccessor, $amesses II" The first three years of $amesses II&s reign seem to ha!e been marked by peace, b t in his fo rth year, and for reasons largely nknown to s, -m rr s ddenly decided to defect back to %gyptian control" The new king appears to ha!e 8 ickly led an army northward in order to formally recei!e an oath of s bmission by the -m rr king, Benteshina" .ot at all obli!io s to %gypt&s aspirations in northern )yria, the new 'ittite king, ( watallish" recogni0ed that in order to protect his holdings in )yria, partic larly the strategic states of -leppo and 2archemish, he wo ld ha!e to sec re Kadesh" To his ad!antage, nlike the days of his father, there was no immediate -ssyrian threat to distract him, so in the winter of 19?1 B2, he set abo t organi0ing an army to reco!er -m rr and protect Kadesh" The !en e of the coming conflict was ne!er in do bt by either party" They wo ld meet beneath the walls of Kadesh in one of the great battles of history in order to settle by trial of arms the f t re of their respecti!e empires in )yria"